Anton Marik (born 1940) is an Austrian conductor who made a career with orchestras and choirs in Germany.

Career

Born in Vienna, Marik had been a member of the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

and received his basic musical training there. After graduating from the Humanistisches Gymnasium he studied conducting (among others with

Hans Swarowsky Hans Swarowsky (September 16, 1899September 10, 1975,) was an Austrian conductor of Hungarian birth. Swarowsky was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied the art of conducting under Felix Weingartner and Richard Strauss. Jiří Vysloužil, ...

), composition and

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

. Already during his studies, Marik worked as a piano accompanist for soloists of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

and the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

and gained first experiences as a choir and orchestra conductor. Marik began his career in 1965 as chief conductor of the

Vienna Ice Revue The Vienna Ice Revue (Wiener Eisrevue) was an internationally highly successful ice show based upon Austria's great figure-skating tradition, presenting a large number of world-class figure skaters mainly from Vienna from 1945 to 1971. Representing ...

. His first theatre engagements led him to the Stadttheater Klagenfurt and the

Landestheater Linz The Linz State Theatre (german: Landestheater Linz) is a theatre in Linz, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a ...

, where he rose from solorepetitor to choir director and finally to first Kapellmeister. In 1975 he took up a position as first Kapellmeister at the

Theater Bielefeld The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld (Municipal stages Bielefeld) in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a ''Dreisparten Haus'' (three-department house), offering plays, music (opera, musical theatre), and ballet. The main per ...

, then went in this function to the

Staatstheater Kassel The Staatstheater Kassel is a state-owned and operated theater in Kassel, Germany. History A permanent theatre house existed in Kassel during the first decade of the 17th century. It stood immediately next to the Ottoneum near the State Theatre ...

, before he held the same position with the

Dortmunder Philharmoniker The Dortmunder Philharmoniker (Dortmund Philharmonic) are a German symphony orchestra based in Dortmund. The orchestra of the Theater Dortmund performs opera in the Opernhaus Dortmund and concert in the Konzerthaus Dortmund. The orchestra was fou ...

from 1985 to 1989. This was followed by employment as

Generalmusikdirektor A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

(GMD) at the

until Marik returned to Dortmund in 1994, where he was first appointed deputy GMD and from 1996 to 2000 GMD of Dortmund. From August 2001 to July 2004 he was chief conductor of the

WDR Rundfunkchor Köln The WDR Rundfunkchor Köln (West German Radio Choir Cologne) is the choir of the German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), based in Cologne. It was founded in 1947. The choir premiered works by contemporary composers including Arnold Schoenb ...

. He then became music director of the

Theater Koblenz The Theater Koblenz is a multi-arts theatre with its own ensembles for drama, music theatre, puppetry and ballet located in Koblenz, Germany. It has about 190 permanent employees from 22 nations and offers 500 seats in a theatre building from the ...

. In addition, Marik has been engaged as a guest conductor at home and abroad, participated in CD recordings and recordings for various radio stations, and participated in numerous festivals, such as the Internationales Brahms Festival in Milan, the Beethoven Festival in Budapest and the Koblenz Festungsspiele on the

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marik, Anton Austrian conductors (music) 1940 births Living people Musicians from Vienna